HTML - My Post Is All Bold!?!?

Well recently I've joined a Dynasty League started by one of the most beloved Dolphins fans known to man, <a href="http://www.phinfever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40457">Tom "T-Rock" Eddie</a>. Unfortunately Tom passed away in the summer of 2008... but his memories and his influence on the Dolphins fan base still live on. I was proud to join the dynasty league, but I must say, it's been a completely different experience for me from a fantasy football perspective. 

<p />It seems the first line of business in a Dynasty Leagues offseason is to find replacement owners. As you may or may not know, you're supposed to try and retain the same owners year in and year out so that their teams can develop... like a real NFL Dynasty. However, for many reasons, this doesn't always happen. This league was missing roughly 4 owners, but fill ins were found quick... this is a very popular league for the name alone. After we found the owners, it was time to figure out what to do with the teams. In this case, the teams were very lopsided, so we took all of the players and all of the draft picks from the teams who were replaced, and we threw them into a draft for those 4 owners only.
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<p /><strong>The Re-Draft</strong>
The rules were simple, the 4 owners who threw players in would all do a re-draft from a pool of those players to even out the teams. Trades outside of those 4 teams <strong>were</strong> allowed so anyone could get in the pool to snag some hot new talent to bolster their team. It was a tricky concept to grasp at first, but once it got going, my trade sensors went off! Since I was the first new team to join the squad I got to choose my draft position... I chose 4 out of 4 in a snake draft in order to immediately get back to back picks and to see what everyone would go after. 

<p /><em>Some would question the decision not to take the #1 pick because Adrian Peterson was available... but I'm trying to build a whole team here while the majority of the league already had a set team, so it seemed wise to me to wait a little while and possibly snag 2 immediate starters in a row instead of 1 then waiting for the pool to drain out 6 more guys before I got to choose again. </em>

<p />Ok, 3 picks go by and of course, there go 3 RB's. I'm now looking at a somewhat talented pool of RB's left... or Drew Brees... the best fantasy QB on the market. Since I have back to back picks I have a little leniency here so I go with Brees. Ok, now my 2nd pick. *DING DING* The trade bell goes off. The owner of the Grim Reefers is a huge Rams fan and can't help but snag this pick to take Steven Jackson. In return, I get RB Brandon Jacobs and WR Roy Williams. This would be the first of many many trades I made with this team. I'm extremely excited now... I've had 2 picks and ended up with 3 starters... what more could I ask for? 

<p />It'd be a few long weeks before the re-draft was finally over. I was probably the hottest trader out of the redraft teams and was happy with how my final re-draft roster came about. I managed to snag Ladainian Tomlinson in like round 6 or 7 which I considered a huge steal and I know I had some more solid picks which seem to be slipping my mind right now as I write this at work... Eventually I started I forfeited the rest of my picks as the pickings were slim and I wanted to get the redraft over with. 

<p /> I think the biggest difference of the draft that really had me somewhat shocked, is the stock put into young players. No joke, you'll see young guys who haven't proven anything but the ability to play the bench, go way ahead of perennial pro bowlers. I didn't take that strategy as far as some did... many teams took guys who literally have a very slim chance to play at all, just because they were young and they have the "potential" to play. I tried to keep it young, but I also tried not to reach on anyone just because they were a few years younger. One guy I did snag, that I'm actually especially excited about, is Jets LB Vernon Gholston. The kid seems to be headed for a career as a pass rushing specialist and if it works out well, I could be the proud owner of a 15-20 sack LB on my roster. Yay!!! 

<p />Well, anyways, I'll try to get my roster up on here when I get home. We have the rookie fantasy draft coming up next weekend and I haven't done much homework for it yet... YIKES!! One word of advice I have for you avid fantasy players is, join at least 1 dynasty league. It's a whole new experience that you'll probably thoroughly enjoy. 

<p /><em><strong>*Warning - They're not made for the average fantasy player. </strong></em>

<p /><strong>Edited on May 16, 2009 at 12:37AM</strong>
Ok guys and gals... here is my roster after the re-draft and before the rookie draft.

<p /><strong><em>Quarterbacks</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>Drew Brees*</li>
<li>Carson Palmer</li>
<li>Kellen Clemens</li>
<li>Damon Huard</li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Runningbacks</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>Brandon Jacobs*</li>
<li>Ladainian Tomlinson*</li>
<li>Ahmad Bradshaw</li>
<li>Ray Rice</li>
<li>Darren Sproles</li>
<li>Brian Leonard</li>
<li>JJ Arrington</li>
<li>Brian Calhoun - <em>FA</em></li>
<li>Chris Perry - <em>FA</em></li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Wide Receivers</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>Roy Williams*</li>
<li>Dwayne Bowe*</li>
<li>Anthony Gonzalez*</li>
<li>Reggie Brown</li>
<li>Michael Clayton</li>
<li>Rashied Davis</li>
<li>Joey Galloway</li>
<li>Brandon Lloyd</li>
<li>Kevin Curtis</li>
<li>Chansi Stuckey</li>
<li>Sinorice Moss</li>
<li>Reggie Williams - <em>FA</em></li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Tight Ends</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>Tony Scheffler*</li>
<li>Visanthe Shiancoe</li>
<li>Martellus Bennett</li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Defensive Lineman</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>John Abraham*</li>
<li>Derrick Burgess*</li>
<li>Jason Taylor</li>
<li>Aaron Kampman</li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Linebackers</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>James Farrior*</li>
<li>Keith Brooking*</li>
<li>Vernon Gholston</li>
<li>DJ Williams</li>
<li>Freddie Keiaho</li>
<li>Will Witherspoon</li>
</ol>

<p /><strong><em>Defensive Backs</em></strong>
<ol>
<li>Darrelle Revis*</li>
<li>Adrian Wilson*</li>
<li>Bob Sanders</li>
<li>Champ Bailey</li>
<li>Kelvin Hayden</li>
<li>Aqib Talib</li>
<li>Dwight Lowery</li>
</ol>

<p />Now I tried to list the players in order of likeliness to start at their position. The starred (*) players are who I project to be starting at the position come the start of the season... but anything can change. I'm looking pretty smart for that Jason Taylor pickup now that the Dolphins have resigned him too. I tried to mark who I could remember are still Free Agents in the NFL... I'm hoping those players find a team soon... else they could be cut to make room for the rookies. 

<p />Speaking of which, I really gotta start looking into the rooks... the draft is in less than a week and I'm clueless!!! Catch ya later!